Was much of Windows swiped from Apple's Mac OS?

"much of Windows was swiped wholesale from Apple's Mac OS"

Which bits?

How many times do we have to read American articles rewriting history to fit the profitable Apple marketing incentives?

The core of Windows is based on Microsoft NT which is based on code developed by a Microsoft team lead by a former VAX developer. If Microsoft had not assembled that team, the major developers would have produced an alternative to Unix on VAX computers. Apple did not look at Unix or anything other modern operating system until many years later.

Apple repeatedly sold their customers limited operating systems then trashed each one and replaced each operating system with a new one, forcing their customers to buy expensive minor changes to similar inferior products up until Apple copied the free Unix operating system then sold the free operating system to Apple customers as OSX.

The user interface?

Xerox invented the GUI, the Graphical User Interface, for a Xerox operating system. Microsoft purchased a legal license to use the GUI in Windows. Microsoft developed their own version of the user interface and gradually introduced improved elements as the graphical hardware in computers improved. The Microsoft version was always usable.

Apple copied the Xerox GUI without purchasing a license. Apple glued the GUI on the hopeless operating system Apple put in the disastrous Apple Lisa computer. After making a huge profit selling masses of the Lisa to gullible Apple customers, Apple threw out the Lisa and made all their customers buy different hardware with a new operating system and a different version of the GUI Apple stole from Xerox.

Apple tried to make further profits from their piracy by suing Microsoft. The judge laughed at Apple's stupid attempts to compare Apple's pirate GUI to Microsoft's implementation of Microsoft's legally licensed version of the Xerox GUI. In the end, the judge said the Microsoft version of the Xerox GUI rubbish bin icon looks similar to the Apple version of the Xerox rubbish bin icon and Microsoft agreed to change the Microsoft icon a little bit.

What else might be similar?

The Excel spreadsheet software saved Apple back in one of the many years when Apple failed at everything else. Why does Excel look familiar to Microsoft users? Because Excel is a Microsoft product.

Microsoft released Excel on whatever machine Apple sold at the time. Making software run on the Apple computer was harder so Microsoft took their Windows product over to the Apple machine before release. Excel was hobbled or changed to fit the Apple OS and released for widespread use on the Apple. Microsoft worked on squeezing more out of the Apple with a new release then made the new release available in Windows. The funny approach meant Microsoft could remove from Excel anything the Apple could not do. Compatibility was assured until Apple junked whatever Apple were selling back then.

When Apple were first failing under Steve Jobs, Microsoft saved Apple by developing a version of Microsoft BASIC for the Apple computer. Microsoft saved Apple again with the release of Microsoft Word for Apple computers and saved Apple another year with the release of Microsoft Excel for Apple computers.

The fabulous "flat" user interface from Apple, the one all the design magazines raved about, was a direct copy of Microsoft's Metro, the first of the current generation of flat interfaces. In fact Microsoft used flat design many years ago and, in some versions of Windows, offered the choice of a flat interface for speed or a curved interface for people who want things to be different. Apple has never allowed Apple customers freedom of choice.